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Heroes lift our spirits higher than Paul O'Connell in lineout

HOORAY FOR panic and pleasure and sweet palpitations! Oh, but it did the heart good to feel the heart flutter and skip a beat and almost stop, before the triumphant roar of those brave enough to look made it race again and nearly burst with joy.

At long last – a chance to celebrate.

Good news, for once. Great news. News to put a smile on your face, and make you sing and cheer and do silly dances.

The sort of headline news that has nothing to do with budgets and pay cuts, unemployment figures and politicians’ expenses.

The blessed relief of sporting distraction.

It didn’t matter if you never set eyes upon an oval ball or knotted an old school tie. Whether you are into rugby, soccer, Gaelic, bog-snorkelling or tiddlywinks – it didn’t matter.

This was a nation responding, admittedly belatedly and in a different fashion, to their Finance Minister’s call to “patriotic duty”. Thanks to the outdoor exploits of a rugby team and the indoor exploits of a boxer, Ireland grabbed the chance to get out there and party.

On an exhilarating Saturday that stretched giddily into the early hours of Sunday, we broke through the pervading gloom of the last few months and fell happily into the glorious Green beyond. First, a rugby Grand Slam title after a wait of 61 years, and then, the heroic capture of a boxing world title by a courageous Dub with a great line in patter.

Gift. Absolutely gift.

We’re not the better of it yet, thank God.

Bernard Dunne, who was crowned the WBA World super-bantamweight champion in Dublin after a gutsy display of stamina and self-belief saw him knock out the highly rated title-holder, will be honoured by his native city next week.

Yesterday belonged to the rugby players.

Coach Declan Kidney’s team, led by captain Brian O’Driscoll, arrived home at lunchtime and were met by a huge, adoring crowd at Dublin airport. It was a foretaste of what was to come.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who has wisely kept out of the limelight during the celebrations, leaving the players to bask in the glory, called into the Mansion House from Government Buildings, where discussions on the economic crisis are ongoing.

The Taoiseach, who loves his sport, stood back and applauded with the rest of the guests as the players entered The Round Room. He met the players and looked on proudly as his youngest daughter Meadhbh had her photo taken with O’Driscoll and Ronan O’Gara.

Social Welfare Minister Mary Hanafin, had she been in a line out, would have been penalised for barging as she elbowed her way through the throng to sit beside O’Driscoll and the trophy.

If O’Driscoll thought it was tough on the pitch, he didn’t reckon on the determination of Irish female politicians. He was sandwiched by Senator Ger Feeney and Cllr Deirdre Heeney, clinging to the trophy for dear life as the rhyming public servants smiled for the camera.

Outside, the crowd waved their green flags and waited for a glimpse of their heroes. Finally, the players emerged from the Mansion House to deafening roars of approval, walking a green carpet and a guard of honour of flagbearers and drummers.

Coach Declan Kidney, meanwhile, had a few words with Brian Cowen back inside. Was the Taoiseach asking him the secret of his success? Our IRFU man said that Kidney told his men at half-time that they had been doing everything right, and if they kept that up, the scores would come. “Keep doing what you are doing,” he told them.

Not, perhaps, the sort of advice to be giving to Brian Cowen.

Jerry Flannery’s mother, Jane, was waiting for the son to appear. “I was at the match — there were the Horans and myself and the Hayes. We stayed seated at the end and I swear to God, all the Welsh in front of us stood up. We couldn’t see a thing. Then we heard the roar. We thought it was the Welsh roaring, at first, then we realised Ireland had won. There were hugs and kisses and jigs all round.” Jerry is one of the many walking wounded on the team. “He has a big, big swollen eye. He needed five stitches,” Jane told us, as her son mounted the steps to the platform.

She looked on in delight, a proud Irish mother. “And his hair not even combed.”

Brian O’Driscoll’s girlfriend, actress Amy Huberman, held his nine-month-old niece Aoife in her arms. “I had her on my knee during the game and she hadn’t a clue what was happy. Thank God, she was a great distraction. When it was finally over, and I realised we won, I couldn’t stop crying for an hour.” Tommy Bowe sang a verse of The Black Velvet Band. At the first sighting of Brian O’Driscoll, the crowd burst into a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole.” There were high-pitched squeals from the sizable contingent of teenage girls in Ugg boots whenever Ronan O’Gara said or did anything. Then the ticker-tape exploded out of machines at the base of the platform with great gusts of tinselly green. The wind caught the paper and it rained down on the crowd.

Sure, it was only a game. Just 80 minutes of diversion. But it was great, and it gladdened the heart and the next few weeks at least will be a little easier and the memories will remain forever. By jingo, isn’t patriotism great?

She¡¯s going to be extremely busy over the next few days

On Tuesday we secured our place in the World Cup Final by beating the West Indies by 146 runs. It will be the first time we have been in a World Cup Final since 1993 and is a massive achievement for all the girls.

For me this meant an unrelenting list of interview requests which is phenomenal and showed that all the hundreds of people I have contacted over the past four years have been taking notice and are cottoning on to how good these players are.

First up were rights holders Sky Sports followed by Sky Sports News and then Sky News. We also fitted in BBC, various national newspapers as well as the Loughborough Echo, the Leicestershire Mercury and other regional press. I’m always keen to continue to provide for the regional press as they cover us year in, year out, so it’s great to reward them when things are going well.

By 9.30pm the interviews were just about finished and England had just woken up. Cue 52 more interview requests for the players. This was brilliant even if it did mean a 2am finish for me - a 20-hour day no less! We have managed to fulfil every single one of those requests so hopefully the players and the game are now getting the profile they deserve.

Over the past few days I have had so many messages of good luck to pass onto the squad which has been just brilliant. It’s great to see that people back home are taking an interest and really getting behind us before Sunday. Lots of my friends (who know I’m here, but don’t really follow the cricket) have heard the scores and are emailing, texting and Facebooking me to let me know and wish us well, which is awesome. Even my Dad, who’s in Siberia, has been keeping up to date with how it’s all going and has been sending pep talks via text! All greatly received!

On Wednesday night after training we had a team meeting and Clare Connor and I gave a brief media session to the players in preparation for what could be the biggest week of their lives.

This was made slightly amusing by the fact that Caroline Atkins and I had swapped clothes for the evening as people keep getting us mixed up! I think I’ve got the better end of the deal there - an opening international bat vs a media manager?! While I dressed Shaggy, as she’s affectionately known, in a lovely joules skirt with a white vest top, cardi and white flip-flops, she dressed me in her baggy jeans, a salmon pink polo shirt (salmon is not my colour!) and my running trainers! Needless to say she got the best straw in the clothing stakes!

When the players all saw me there was a deathly silence as they were all too polite to say anything, until one of them started laughing and then they all did with huge sighs of relief that it wasn’t real. This is no slight whatsoever on Shaggy’s clothes as everyone kept telling me - they just look a lot better on her! Caroline, on the other hand, got a lot of compliments and even managed to get served at the bar first that evening!

The win over the West Indies and the fact that India had beaten Australia meant that our game against the hosts on Thursday had no relevance on our place in the final. However, we wanted to win. After winning the toss and batting we were all out for 161 and they knocked off the runs in 34 overs. This was so disappointing but, as Lottie keeps saying, we’re in a World Cup Final so we have regrouped and are now looking ahead to the most important game on Sunday.

Despite the loss, the good luck messages still roll in and everyone is still very much behind us which means so much to everyone here.

Today was a rare day off and after my 1am finish this morning I managed a lie-in until 8am. After a quick visit to the gym I started my first round of interviews with Isa Guha and the BBC. That was swiftly followed by Katherine Brunt with various journalists and then I returned to my computer to reply to the emails that had come in overnight.

Whilst here I am still trying to keep up to speed with things back home like our PR and media plans for this year’s Friends Provident Trophy, the ICC World Twenty20, and anything else that needs doing.

Anya and I then headed out to George Street to find some Ugg boots. Mine were for myself and my boyfriend’s sister while Annie’s were for her sister and her brother’s girlfriend.

We eventually found a shop that sold original Uggs after traipsing round hundreds of shops, much to Annie’s annoyance! We rewarded ourselves with pizza for lunch and then a quick stop back to the hotel to catch up on a few more emails and phone calls. This afternoon we headed down to the Aquarium at Darling Harbour following a recommendation after bumping into my colleague Gill Harris in Circular Quay earlier!

It was then a quick dinner before returning to the hotel to do an hour’s worth of interviews with Lottie. Another late night with training tomorrow and then the pre-final press conference and photo shoot at the SCG with Lottie again.

She’s going to be extremely busy over the next few days!

Aussie made products vanishing from shops

"THIS is Australian," says the salesgirl. "See here on the label? It says 'Designed in Australia'."

She is holding a leather handbag and letting me see only the top half of the label. The bottom half is obscured by her red-nail-polished thumbnail.

I look at her. Her thumb moves.

"Made in China,'' says the label.

She laughs. I can't tell if it's a guilty or an embarrassed laugh.

"All our stuff's made in Australia, to an extent,'' she says. "I mean, most of it's made in China - but we're a wholly Australian company.

"It's all designed here.''

We're in Pitt St Mall in Sydney at 2.45pm and I'm conducting a little experiment: If I wanted to spend my $900 stimulus payment locally, could I find Australian-made goods worth buying?

Will I end up with nine pairs of ugg boots? I hate uggs.

In every shop, I ask if there are any Australian-made goods.

On every occasion I'm greeted with some degree of awkward throat-clearing or defensiveness.

"Oh, yeah, I know what you're saying,'' says one saleswoman. "I like to spend my money here too.''

Staff tell me there's no Australian content in Hype, Witchery, Nine West, Esprit, Just Jeans, Oroton, Emporio and Strandbags. At Surf Dive 'n' Ski, they're selling green-and-gold thongs bearing the names Surfers Paradise, Bondi, Cottesloe, Maroubra.

All made in Brazil.

How about the flower stall?

"Ah, these ones are Singapore orchids - from Thailand,'' says the florist, holding up flowers so blue they're almost neon.

Laughing with an apologetic air, she adds: "Some of the others are from Africa.''

In the 19 stores I visit, only seven have any Australian-made content - that's 36 per cent. Only one, Jurlique, is all-Australian.

A shop named Glue has an Australian-made Backstage dress for $119.99.

Portmans has a healthy stack of local clothes and at Soul Pattinson pharmacy, there's Le Tan, Sukin skin care and Nude by Nature makeup.

At Sussan, everything's made in Asia except the nail polish and the lip gloss.

Then I get to Borders and it seems a gleaming ray of hope.

Of 28 books on the new-release shelves by the door, only five are printed overseas.

It's an array of Australian-made words. Even the latest books by British authors Jeffrey Archer and Alexander McCall Smith are printed here. I'm delighted to discover such a beacon of localism, right here in the American chain store that locals love to revile.

Borders can't be that bad, if even the foreign books are Australian-made, can it?

But that situation exists only because of protectionism: a long-enduring ban on the parallel importing of books, which the Government is now considering axing because it keeps prices artificially high.

So in this little shopping strip we have a perfect encapsulation of the Australian economy.

There's a bit of manufacturing, a bit of protectionism, a fair amount of free trade - and an awful lot of embarrassment.

"We used to make it here but it's just too expensive now,'' one young salesman informs me. "It's all Australian ideas, though.''

And that's the crux. It's just the reality of our modern economy, right? Australia is no longer really about making things. Manufacturing is 9.2 per cent of our gross domestic product. Mining is 10 per cent.

Agriculture is 2.6 per cent.

We're a services-dominated nation: retail, finance, law, tourism, education, transport, construction, hospitality.

The Pitt St shop girls are the economy, even when selling Singapore orchids from Thailand.

So why all the bashfulness?

Well, here's one reason: The shop girls know as well as I do that it's very hard to be sure about the conditions in those Chinese factories or Thai hot-houses. Are they as good as in Australian factories?

Do the workers get holidays? Are they paid fairly?

AussieBum underwear founder Sean Ashby is still horrified to recall the time he visited a Chinese manufacturer who wanted his business.

The showcase factory was clean, brightly lit and staffed by apple-cheeked employees taking regular tea-breaks.

Then he saw the real factory out the back: dirty, dark and stacked with bunk-beds.

That's one of the reasons it's cheaper to manufacture offshore. That's why Ashby keeps his production in Sydney.

And that should be the issue that concerns us. I don't care if products are made in Bangladesh or Bankstown as long as they're made by people treated decently.

We can't make everything here, or stand alone against the tide of globalisation. Protectionism won't protect us forever.

But we can be inquisitive about what we're importing. We can look beyond the embarrassment and think about how things are made.

We can read labels and ask questions in shops.

I haven't spent my $900 handout yet. Turns out half the ugg boots are made in China anyway. What a relief.

Levity and catharsis bring fashion festival to a close

SOME things remain constant, even in hard financial times. A fashion festival will attract a certain cast: preening, glossy haired princesses with vacant stares and glistening lips; ageing madams eyeing off the flawless catwalk colts with pursed-lip longing; flashy spectators who have piled on every fashion trend at once — sequinned cape, ruched shiny leggings, trilby hat. Less is more anyone? And, of course, where would any fashion festival be without some multinational exploiting the target audience and spruiking a 97 per cent fat-free product. Skinny Cow anyone? (It's an ice cream.)

Thank goodness for moments of levity and catharsis — and there were some as the Melbourne Fashion Festival drew to a close at the Docklands yesterday. The festival's final show, staged by budget department store Target, bristled with the sheer joyousness of acrobatics, dance and youth. If there was a lesson to be had, it was that in the end it's not so much the clothes that maketh the man (or woman) but his (or her) dance moves. One young break dancer, Aron, busted some show-stealing moves, wearing nothing too directional, a baggy T-shirt, baggy jeans.

The two Target catwalks shows were a mish-mash of styles and influences plucked from bygone eras, and reprising recent trends: '70s peasant, paisley blouses teamed with denim shorts; shiny leggings with disco-style off-the-shoulder tops; bottom-skimming micro-mini dresses with vivid tights; skinny jeans teamed with tasselled boots and check flannel shirts; ugg boots and trackie-dacks; sexy secretarial looks with pencil skirts and cinched waists; a muted palette of grey and black set off with vibrant accessories.

"The thing with fashion at the moment is diversity, there are so many things happening, so if you're into all black linear, you've got it, if you want bright pop bold you've got it, so there are all these counter trends," festival director Karen Webster said. "But … I've noticed most of the week is that fashion is dressing up again. I think this is one of the things that have come out with this whole current economic position, is that people are wanting to feel good and look good." I like uggs .

Emu Australia recruits VF Corp MD

Emu Australia, the sheepskin footwear company, has named Andy Knowles as CEO Europe with a remit to oversee all European marketing from the brand.

Knowles was most recently VF Jeanswear managing director where he oversaw the Lee and Wrangler brands. He has also held senior positions at Nestlé and Cadbury Schweppes.

Emu Australia entered the UK market in 2006 and has just opened a European head office and sales showroom in London. The company was founded in 1994 and positions itself as a luxury brand with the strapline “naturally Australian”.

The privately owned company is a rival to Ugg boots and has just shot the 2009 autumn/winter campaign at a heritage-listed historical sheep station.

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Footwear and Foot Problems

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 43.1 million Americans (one in six people) have foot problems. Women are nine times more at risk than men because females are more likely to wear tight or poorly-fitted shoes.

During an average day of walking, the feet bear the equivalent weight of several tons. When combined with poorly-fitting shoes, those forces can lead to a number of painful conditions. Two common foot problems associated with shoe fit are bunions and hammertoes.

A bunion is an enlargement of the joint at the base of the big toe (the metatarsophalangeal joint). It occurs when the big toe is misaligned, with the tip angling inward toward the other toes. This pushes the base of the joint outward. The skin over the protruding joint can become red, swollen and painful. The joint can become stiff and swollen, causing pain while wearing shoes or walking.

Hammertoe is a condition in which one or more of the toes is bent upward at the middle joint, causing the affected toe(s) to look like a hammer. A callus can also develop on top of the toe. It most commonly affects the second toe. Initially, the joint is still moveable and can be straightened. But if the condition isn’t treated, the joint can become stiff and rigid.

The Need for Support

Philadelphia Podiatrist Edward Chairman, D.P.M., says adult feet need support to bear the weight of standing and walking. Shoes without support increase the risk for foot problems, like bunions and hammertoes.

One popular line of footwear is UGG®. Chairman says some women are wearing UGG boots because they are soft, comfortable and wide enough to relieve pressure on the toes. So, even patients with bunions and hammertoes find them to be more comfortable than some shoes and boots. However, over time, women tend to develop more pain and discomfort. Chairman says that’s because boots like the UGGs have no support. The extra pressure on the feet eventually causes alignment problems in the toes to worsen. Although bunions and hammertoes are typically more common in middle-aged and older women, Chairman is seeing the early signs of the problems in teenagers who “live” in their UGGs.

Chairman recommends that women who want to use footwear that doesn’t have adequate support get custom-made orthotics, or shoe inserts. The orthotics are designed to minimize force on the feet and improve foot function. For UGGs and similar boots, he recommends sports orthotics, which are a little bulkier and longer than orthotics designed for dress shoes.cheap ugg boots

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Location: Iraq, Sulaimaniya

It's been 29 days and 3 hours since I landed in Sulaimaniya. It's official. This is the longest time I have ever been away from the UK. A time during which I learnt to be an editor, a journalist, a communicator, in both Arabic and English (the Arabic part is debatable), mud puddles survivor, a taxi fare haggler and a Barclays bank plc hater. Home sweet home(s).

My favourite part of the day, and sometimes not, is getting in the taxi to go down town Sulaimaniya. It is my only chance to have a direct genuine conversation with people. 'I am Iraqi speak no Arabi,' mocked one of the drivers. 'I am Iraqi speak no Kurdi,' I replied. We both laughed.

I learnt that it is considered inappropriate to strike a conversation with people you do not know and that smiling would be an invitation to flirt. But the adorable way Kurds try to communicate in Arabic is irresistible, especially if they are old men who like to reminisce about Iraq's good days and Baghdad. Could they be talking about the early 70s? The only time Iraq has ever seen some kind of prosperity and not many had to suffer, although peace never prevailed. Not the Monarchy or the British occupation surely. Neither could it be Saddam's reign. Perhaps they are just ordinary people who just enjoyed being them and living their lives despite the hardships they were subjected to. What I heard and read in newspapers on Kurds and Arabs have almost been non-existent in Sulaimaniya during the past 4 weeks. True, there are more Kurds than Arabs here, but not one so far seemed to consider themselves anything but Iraqi, and sometimes the word Kurdish preceded the word Iraqi. Were they being nice to me because I am a customer? Or perhaps when they realize I had no hand in the gassing of Kurds, and instead talked to them in a civil manner, they react accordingly. Perhaps I am making progress already. Perhaps through me, they believe we are one. Perhaps they will regain their patriotism to Iraq as a whole. Perhaps it's the politician's game that makes things look ugly. Or perhaps I am being unrealistic and naive. Who knows!

Sulaimaniya is a modern, up and coming city that has a limited choice of entertainment but a vast history and a beautiful nature. The mountains surrounding it are breathtaking, while trekking the way up to the tips of them is surreal. What attracts me to it mainly is the endless long road it was built around. Salem Street is prefect for people like me who easily get lost. Modern cafes dotted along the street have become my home for the past 4 weeks. I eat, write, make phone calls, shop, edit the magazine and work till dawn while drinking tons of lemon and pomegranate juices. My day is made when Kathem Alsaher, my favourite Iraqi singer, comes on one of the plasma screen TVs in the cafe. Only then I feel I am in Iraq.

I often drift into thoughts about my life in the UK when I see the pen I received as a gift for graduating from university, now the pen I use during interviews. A key ring that became the one for my first home in Iraq. A notebook; my travels' official diary. My lucky charm necklaces that I alternate everyday. My business card holder that will be effective from tomorrow. My watch, of course, to keep track of time, and yet another one sitting on my desk amongst lots and lots of cards scattered on my messy desk; a reminder that I am loved.

It is quite common to be sitting with a client discussing the latest issues in Iraq, or be having dinner with a friend in the evening, when a power cut occurs. Everyone pauses their activities for a few minutes till power resumes, and they carry on going about their business as normal. Like someone has paused a movie for a few minutes, or seconds sometimes. This happens several times a day.

I noticed that I yawn much more often and my hair needs more regular washing. My chocolate Ugg boots have now become yellowy cream. It never stopped raining since I arrived and the days get much colder at night. Mud puddles became my worst enemy as the city is going under wide construction and development and workmen are everywhere. The only problem is that in Iraq, workmen take eternity to finish a job.

I moved into a block of apartments in a secluded village just outside of Sulaimaniya. Thankfully, Sulaimaniya isn't a large city so I am able to reach Salem Street in just under half an hour, if a taxi passes by that is. Leaving me stranded on top of the hill for the dust to settle right behind my contact lenses. Taxi drivers often think I am crying.

I will be in Baghdad soon to interview people regarding the magazine cover story as well as a few other stories. I will once again, after many years, visit places in Baghdad I had not been to for almost two decades. Once Zainab the quiet struggling school girl carrying her books to school while adjusting her glasses, now Zainab the editor, the writer, with her dictaphone, pen and notebook, and of course a laptop bag that doesn't fit my laptop in it properly which often makes me look clumsy.

So here I am, grumbling about mud, dust, rain and Uggs. Having just been scared the devil out of as all lights in my apartment went out whilst in the shower. To crawl my way out and hope someone would call me so my mobile would light the way. Nothing like a power cut during a shower in a secluded home in the mountains of Iraq.

I apologize for the long absence as settling in has not been easy. With no internet at home, I am truly lost.

I am here. I live here. I work here. I am pursuing my dreams here. This is where I want to be and these are only the beginnings of what I want to do.

OK! Interview: Peter Andr¨¦ & Katie Price

The former UK glamour model and her pop star hubby stopped by OK!’s Beverly Hills office, and opened up about their life in the US, the Beckhams, and Jade Goody .

Do you live a normal life here in the US?

Peter: In England, it is constant. Here you get some days when they are there, and some days when they are not. You can be normal.

Katie: You think it’s pretty normal to go and have a 13-mile run along Malibu beach and have twelve paparazzi following you around?

The Beckhams attempt to “conquer America,” was short-lived because it looks like they’re now going back to Europe. What are your thoughts?

KP: Well, we never said that we were trying to break America. I don’t know if they said that they were trying to. It’s sad they’re going to be leaving. I’m sure that she loves it here, and her boys love it here. Just — good luck to them!

PA: I think that they are so successful anyway –who cares. It doesn’t matter, and I think –you know, good luck to them! We love them.

What are your thoughts on Victoria Beckham’s style?

KP: Sometimes, I do think that she tries too hard. I would actually like to see her in a tracksuit, and UGG boots going to the shop buying newspaper – smiling.

What are your thoughts and feelings on fellow UK reality star Jade Goody's battle with cancer?

KP: Oh, it is awful. But I think that it is so brave and I am just gutted for her. We talk about her day and night. I would love to be by her side just the whole way, you know.

PA: It’s really put everything into perspective for us. We are living the American dream but what does it all mean when you think back to someone who can’t see their children after a certain period of time. She will never see them again.

Have the both of you reached out to her?

KP: I’m supporting her.

PA: We’ve sent her some messages, and we have sent her some flowers.

KP: I do say that they need to do a Jade charity, and I would love to be a part of that. I said that next year, I would run the marathon to raise money for that.

PA: Well, I was actually thinking of writing her name across my forehead when I do the London marathon. Buy cheap ugg boots .

MCC members guide on how to dress

The exclusive social club has sent members a two-page illustrated guide of its strict dress code.

Bare midriffs, torn jeans and thongs are banned from the Member's Reserve.

Men will be refused entry to the Long Room or Member's Dining Room if they have no tie or wear a zippered jacket and women will be turned away in leggings, denim jackets or three-quarter pants.

In case members don't know what tracksuit pants and ugg boots look like, the MCC had models pose in the unacceptable clothes.

The latest MCC membership letter warns members they will not be admitted unless they can pass the fashion police.

"To avoid any embarrassment at the turnstiles, please ensure that your attire, and that of your guests, is appropriate."

MCC chief Stephen Gough said the guide was necessary to inform members, who will this year pay up to $726 in fees.

"It's come about because we have so many occasions when members might bring guests that are unaware of the requirements," he said.

"Sometimes members themselves don't know what is expected of them.

"So we've done this because it can be embarrassing for people to get knocked back and a major inconvenience."

But MCC members said the dress guide was a step too far.

Country member Brendan Carrick said the MCC was pointing out the obvious.

"If you're a member, you know what you're expected to wear," he said.

"You don't need a two-page guide to remind you to wear a collar or to remind your guest that they have to wear a tie."

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Moir¡¯s Big Yin routine is one big yawn

There are 370 shows at the forthcoming Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival. At 369 of them, the performers will be following the two unwritten laws of comedy: find your own voice and write your own material. At one of them, a man in a black Spandex one-piece and “banana-fied” Ugg boots will perform a set “inspired by Billy Connolly’s classics”.

Gary Moir, a former winner of Stars in Their Eyes, makes much of the fact that he, like Connolly, is a failed welder from the Glasgow shipyards. Normally, this would qualify him for delivering Chinese meals or restocking the freezers in Asda, but not Moir.

He had wearied, so his legend goes, of people telling him he was as funny as Billy Connolly. So shipbuilding’s loss would be comedy’s gain. But instead of becoming Gary Moir, hilarious individual performer who wears normal clothes and relies on his own imagination, he became the Big Yin, a Connolly tribute act.

He is not alone. There are a host of banjo-strumming, glottal-stopping faux Billys out there, appearing in the sticky-carpet clubs that Connolly played in at the start of his career. (They are also available for weddings, parties and corporate events, for people who imagine their big day would be improved by a singalong version of D-I-V-O-R-C-E.) Moir’s show has been a Glasgow Comedy Festival sell-out for the past three years; this time around, he is expected to fill the Barrowlands.

When Connolly started out, the Barrowlands was a dance hall. He played folk clubs and function rooms: his career-starting Billy Connolly Live! was recorded in the Tudor Hotel, Airdrie. Back then, Connolly was a fresh voice, an accent never heard before on Michael Parkinson’s BBC chat show.

He cheekily mixed up scatology and social observation with spoof songs. Among the mother-in-law gags of the 1970s, reimagining the Last Supper as a bar room rammy was bold and original. He swore like he was still working in the shipyard and made jokes about subjects — masturbation, flatulence, piles — that many of his audience would blush to discuss with their GP.

It was sensational and shocking, while being accessible in a way that the alternative comedians of the next decade never quite pulled off. But it is a product of its time and place: Connolly’s stand-up is a period piece, tied to a time when buses were orange, green and operated by the corporation. Neither Moir nor the other tribute acts on the circuit have adopted the purple beard or flowery shirts favoured by the latter-day Connolly. He has not sung In the Brownies, or worn the big banana boots that Moir copies in his stage costume for 30-odd years. The originals are where they belong — in a museum.

Unpleasant illnesses, evil families, problem drinking . . . the material that took Connolly’s audiences into wild, uncharted territory is now available back-to-back on television. The fabulous Glesca patter has been cleaned up and repackaged for telly, radio and in the acts of plenty of comedians who can stand up on stage without hiding behind somebody else’s hairstyle.

Connolly himself has run into difficulty dealing with contemporary events — there was a huge uproar in 2004 when, at the Hammersmith Apollo, he made a joke about the hostage Kenneth Bigley, who was soon to be beheaded in Iraq.

So the tribute acts such as Moir stay on safe comedy territory. He even borrows other comedians’ lines and puts them into his phoney Connolly mouth. Does his bum, he asks the audience, look big in his catsuit? It was Arabella Weir, not Connolly, who originally posed that question. He ploughs on regardless, with a charmless discussion of the size of other parts of his anatomy. It is about as daring as Kate Middleton’s dress sense and as challenging as an episode of Fireman Sam.

Of course, the audience that goes to see the Big Yin does not want to be taunted or challenged or made to feel uncomfortable. If they did, they would stay in and watch a Sarah Silverman DVD. They are going for nostalgia, for the values of the1970s wrapped up in a fancy-dress outfit. It’s not grown-up and it’s not very funny.

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Chaos is nearer the surface than we imagine, waiting to break through

YOU could argue that for our sanity we need to believe in certain things. We need to believe in order, for example. We need to believe that things are in some way under control, that we, or someone else, is on top of things, has a grip. Beyond our belief in order lies the appalling vista. It is the stuff of nightmares, of horror films.

We need to believe, too, that the Government is in charge. Despite increasing evidence to the contrary, we cling needily to the notion of this paternalistic institution to which we have delegated the running of the bigger picture. Once we can believe that they are there fighting the macro-battle, then we can focus on our own petty struggles. And every time we read about further deterioration in the economy, or the world order, we can console ourselves with the notion that while we are powerless to do anything, we have a Government and it is, presumably, on top of things.

So we literally suspend disbelief as we observe the weekly routine that is the Oireachtas. We will ourselves to believe that the talking, and the plans, and all the rest of it, are going to make a difference, maybe even that they will work. We may disagree with the talk and the plans at times, but part of us gullibly thinks that these guys are, in some way, competent to be in charge. This necessary gullibility is revealed by the fact that until very recently, most of the media -- and many of the public -- wilfully allowed themselves to believe that this Government was on top of things, despite the fact that since before last summer the Government has been adrift.

While much has been made of this Government's apparent need to "get real", many of these exhortations have come from an Opposition that has resolutely refused to get real itself. It is an Opposition that has put playing political games and political opportunism ahead of actually eyeballing what is an extraordinary shift in our whole world, and positioning ourselves for this shift . buy uggs .

But then again, who is going to be the politician to turn to the people and say the real truth? "Things are never going to be the same again. The world as we know it is disintegrating. You need to radically alter your expectations of life. The value of everything is up in the air and could be nothing, as are all the systems and certainties that our lives up to now were based on. Indeed, the very sovereignty of our State is now in doubt as we are moving, with increasing haste, towards bankruptcy. There is a high possibility the country is going to run out of money, and one week soon we simply will not be able to pay people's dole, or nurses' wages or any other bills.

"We're not really sure what will happen then because the very institutions that might bail us out in that situation, like the IMF or the ECB, might not at that point be able to bail us out. We can take nothing for granted anymore, including the world order."

The closest any politician has come to looking the people in the eye and telling them the mind-blowing truth about what's going on is, funnily enough, Brian Cowen, when he told the Dublin Chamber of Commerce that our children would probably not enjoy the same standard of living as we do. It was, when you think about it, a fairly radical thing to tell people because you are asking Irish people to let go of another one of our core beliefs -- that the country is constantly getting better and that each generation enjoys a standard of living that is higher than that of our parents. Remember, this is a country that went from hobnail boots to Ugg boots, from poor farmers to farmers' markets, in little more than two generations. We are a country that believed a year ago that things could only get better. The notion that we could now slip back, from being one of the richest countries in the world, to being a Second World, or indeed a Third World country again, is unimaginable for most of us.

Just as we need to believe we have tamed our demons with civilisation and order -- two immutables that cannot break down -- we need to believe too that we have conquered poverty and our past with unrelenting progress.

Of course, one of the reasons that no politician has told people how much in freefall the foundations upon which we have built our lives actually are is because most politicians are in denial too. They believe that conducting the weekly circus in the Dail, having pops at each other and dissing whatever plan the opposite side moots is still, in some way, acceptable behaviour. They do not realise that democracy as currently practised in this country has failed, is in terminal failure, and is now irrelevant.

Can you believe for example, that the Government is still waiting for a report from the Commission on Taxation? Its effort to speed things up has apparently been to tell the Commission to report in July instead of September. We could, as the man says, all be dead in July, but somehow it seems that the Government thinks it is still OK to wait for some report on what we should do about wider tax reform.

This at a time when any taxi driver could probably offer a decent stab of a taxation plan for the country -- and at a time when people are prepared for the worst in terms of taxation. It was last Tuesday before Brian Cowen realised the country was screwed and needed a mini-budget, despite the fact that schoolchildren were muttering the day after the last Budget that it was not enough and we would need another one within months. Mary Coughlan thought, just the other day, that the country's finances were in good shape. Fintan O'Toole, who has set himself up as a tax expert, appears to be running the Opposition's policy -- which is "Eat the rich". Trust me: politics is not working here.

So now we need to consider something different, now we need to consider something that could get a grip on things. If our politicians don't realise this, they will realise it soon enough. Who among them, do you think, will dare leave

the safety of Leinster House to campaign for local or European elections, or, indeed, for a Lisbon Treaty? Who among them will relish going out among the people if there is a general election? Can't you picture it? Politicians getting egged, getting a dig instead of a dig-out? Rival factions of canvassers and supporters going at each other?

Of course by then we will presumably have unrest on the streets anyway, as unions or taxi drivers or whoever else having taken to the city centre are encouraged by the kind of sinister elements who start sowing seeds of unrest wherever there is discontent. It's a miracle that some public gathering hasn't ended in rioting yet, but it will happen soon enough as people lose hope even further and as the vague sense of chaos and drift out there begins to crystallise in people's minds.

The mini-Budget and the continuing inability of the Government to seem to be in charge will form the background to unrest -- will, if you like, provide an ambience that is conducive to unrest. The opportunity and immediate catalyst for unrest will be protests or election campaigns. And once it has happened once, and civil society is breached, and the world doesn't end, then it will happen more and more, and soon at every place where people gather in public there will be tension and the potential for unrest. With trust in the financial system and the political system gone, soon enough people will lose faith in all systems. Chaos is much nearer the surface than we imagine, waiting to break through, and once it breaks through, it's like a virus.

So what kinds of measures should we consider? The idea of a so-called National Government has been batted around a bit recently. However, it is difficult to say if there is anything inherently inspiring about the current incumbents of Leinster House all working together instead of agin each other.

What we probably need to try now are some kind of emergency measures that allow us to react to the situation as quickly as it develops. Waiting for the Commission on Taxation or an Bord Snip Nua to report months down the line makes no sense now. Neither does the Government being unable to cut civil service pay because the legal advice is that they can't. Similarly a Government that needs to spend months fooling around with the social partners before it can make a decision about economics has no place in the world right now. Neither has a Government that is legally constrained from cutting tribunal lawyers' fees. Buy cheap ugg boots .

In fact, come to think of it, much of the country is tied up in red tape that was designed for more genteel times. This is not a particularly relevant example right now but it is a rather telling one: Did you know that 85 per cent of the staff of the Office of Public Works, the Government department responsible for decentralisation, are refusing to move to their decentralised location? Irrelevant right now, but just another example of the kind of rubbish that is still going on as Rome burns.

These are sterner and more urgent circumstances, and it is perhaps time that we looked at suspending some of our more civilised instruments of running the country. After all, it is the very collapse of civilisation that we are battling for right now, so we need to fight a bit dirty, just so the centre can hold in some way. Standing on ceremony, as we are wont to do, could only be a recipe for greater chaos.

Experts reveal how to take the agony out of towering stilettos

EVERY woman understands the power of a pair of sexy high heels.

But we felt Victoria Beckham's agony as she teetered round a Los Angeles theme park last week in five-inch Christian Louboutins.

She broke the pain barrier while tottering on her tip-toes on a family day out but is not alone with the average woman owning 10 pairs of toe-crunching heel-bending heels.

Here GAYLE RITCHIE asks the experts - what is the best way to survive in stilettos?

THE SURGEON

MIKE O'NEILL repairs the damage caused by high heels on a daily basis - and it's an ugly business.

The Society of Chiropodists' surgeon said: "Cramming feet into ridiculous heeled shoes is like a modern day version of Chinese bound feet - a 21st-century torture.

"You squash your foot into an unnatural position, it moulds and eventually takes that shape. Victoria Beckham's feet are full of bunions but she probably only wears them to be photographed. My concern is for the average woman who wears heels all day.

"Feet aren't so glamorous when covered in corns, calluses, blisters and fungal infections. Joints can develop all sorts of deformities which not even surgery can correct. It's ghastly, not glamorous.

"Get the balance right. Wear heels for fashion moments and comfort shoes for everything else.

"And mirror American women by wearing trainers to get to work then change when you get there."

THE SPECIALIST

PODIATRIST Aileen Kelly says it is important to choose the right shoe.

She said: "Get a shoe that suits your foot shape.

Get measured for both width of foot and depth of toe and visit a podiatrist.

"Make sure your shoes are supportive. uggs support the ankle joint and shoes with straps or laces are good."

Aileen also recommends regular treatments to keep toes in tip-top condition. She said: "Go for a foot soak, get the hard skin off, indulge in a massage and deep moisturising treatment. Wear Fit-Flops or MBTs and try comfort pads.

Look after your feet as surgery should be a last resort.

"There's nothing beautiful about limping down the street in agony on a big night out."

THE DESIGNER

SHOE designer Helen Bateman says the secret to happy feet is to train yourself to wear heels.

The Perth-based independent shoemaker said: "Everyone has their comfort zone. Some women run around all day in two inches but find it hard to step up to three.

"Thankfully it is possible to train yourself how to wear heels. It's like exercise - you teach your body to get used to the sensation.

"In high heels, all the muscles in your legs, bum and feet work differently. If you're used to flats, start low and go up a notch at a time."

Helen says it is worth buying good quality shoes with built-in support and cushioning.

She said: "The balance of the shoe is critical - the toe should be raised slightly when you look at it on the shelf.

"Also check the back. It should be slightly pinched at the top if it's good quality."

THE MODEL

FORMER Miss Scotland Nieve Jennings is a dedicated heel wearer.

Her favourites are a pair of 5in Christian Louboutins, similar to those sported by Posh.

She said: "Heels are a beautiful, feminine treat every woman should enjoy.

"I've just learned to suffer the pain. After five fashion shoots in a day, the backs of my heels and the arch ofmy foot ache but I've never needed to use insoles.

"High heels should never be clumpy - a thin stiletto is best. I give my feet a rest in Gucci trainers or Ugg boots but mostly I'm in heels. I'd tell people who aren't used to heels to buy only soft leather shoes and get sponge soles."

Tozzi sets scene for more drama

NOT content with being an actor on the rise, Cronulla's Tahyna Tozzi has launched a career as a film producer.

Tozzi, 22, said she had started Avakea Productions in Los Angeles with fellow Australian starlets Teresa Palmer and Nathalie Kelley.

"We are currently working on a film and looking to go into production next year," she said.

The film is a dark, psychological crime thriller set in Sydney in the 1970s.

Tozzi makes her film debut in Beautiful, an Australian drama released today that has her flirtatious character sunbaking in the rain.

"It was so cold that particular day - I remember walking on to set seeing everyone in parkas and ugg boots and here I am in a bathing suit about to be drenched by a ginormous hose."

Tozzi, a graduate of Blue Water High with a role in the coming X-Men Origins: Wolverine, said she was slowly adjusting to life in LA, where she has been based for a year.

"I have managed to find little hobbies and things to do to keep me away from being absorbed by glitz of this town," she said.

Boot haul helps stamp out crime

A £2,000 haul of designer boots was found by police during their clean up Cardiff operation.

The Ugg boots were recovered alongside stolen motorbikes and industrial tools, many of which have been traced back to burglaries in Cardiff and Penarth.

Police released the details after the latest leg of their Operation Clean Sweep in Llanrumney and Rumney.

The operation is moving through the city area by area.

Warrants were executed in Llanrumney and Trowbridge and five arrests made for offences ranging from handling stolen goods to burglary.

The Uggs, which may have been fake, have been handed over to the council’s trading standards department.

Fug Girls: Keep Homeless-Celebrity Chic Off the Runways

After the largely dark, recession-tinged array of clothes shown during New York Fashion Week, we've been eager to bask in the dramatic, fanciful quirk of Milan's collections — the searing-hot pinks at Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci's polka dots, and the baguette hats and handlebar-mustache dress that only Agatha Ruiz de la Prada could hallucinate. So it dismayed us to discover that the Dsquared2 collection — the same boys currently putting the touring Britney Spears in headdresses and feathered epaulets — looked more like a Walk of Shame than a runway show. Is it possible that the pervasive, sloppy-starlet style we’re most accustomed to seeing in Us Weekly’s "Stars: They’re Just Like Us" section ("They look hung-over!”) actually is crossing over to the catwalks?

For years, we've been baffled by otherwise adorable actresses embracing their inner slobs. Homeless chic made for a brilliant parody in Zoolander, but that movie also theorized that you could brainwash someone into committing murder by playing "Frankie Goes to Hollywood." It was never meant to be taken seriously. When the satire became celebrity street attire, we threw up our hands — and on occasion, our lunches. An untidy aesthetic can be excused when you’re popping out for some groceries, and sometimes, the unpolished thing can be very sexy. But there’s carelessly cute, and then there’s looking like it's been laundry day for the past eighteen months: Mary-Kate famously pioneered ripped hose paired with mountains of heavy layers (and $2,500 shoes). Lindsay Lohan spent the last two years in leggings and unwashed-looking concert tees. And despite Blair Waldorf’s testimony that tights are not pants, Mischa Barton actually did treat a mangy old pair of brown hosiery as if they were real trousers. Grunge was one thing; what these girls did seemed more like grime.

Which is why it’s alarming to see the ensembles celebrities wear for morning-after coffee runs actually appear, in some form, on the allegedly sophisticated European catwalks — in Dsquared2's case, complete with real Starbucks cups, in case the point had not been made finely enough. It felt like a derivative cocktail of Olsen, Barton, and Nicole Richie, with a dash of Miss Sixty and an assist from Katie Holmes's pegged boyfriend jeans.

We hope this is merely an artistic statement on how our collective economic woes may make us all a tiny bit less self-obsessed. Because if Mary-Kate Olsen's castoffs are hot for fall, then by spring 2010, there may be nowhere left to go but Pam Anderson–style track pants, tank tops, and Ugg boots. At a time when we're seriously considering stuffing all our money under a floorboard, fashion should be our escape. Who wants to bankrupt herself in order to look … well, bankrupt?

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WOMANS DEATH IN SEA ISLE STILL A MYSTERY

SEA ISLE CITY--- The Cape May Co. Prosecutors Office appealed to the public for assistance, on Friday, regarding the death of a Pennsylvania woman whose body was found near a boat ramp in Sea Isle City last Sunday.

Shortly before 8:00 am Sunday morning (Feb. 15) the body of 35 year old Tracy Hottenstein was discovered on a tiny sliver of marsh next to a public boat ramp at the street end of 42nd Pl.

The Conshohocken Pa. resident had been in town for Saturday's annual Polar Bear Plunge.

According to the Cape May Co. Prosecutors Office, Hottenstein was at the Ocean Drive Bar, on Landis Av. later Saturday night, and was last seen leaving the OD around 2:15 Sunday morning.

Although her body had been in the water at some point, an autopsy has failed to determine how Hottenstein died -- furthermore, sources tell NBC 40 that the cause of death is not drowning.

Authorities are still waiting for the results of toxicology tests.

On Thursday and again Friday morning, Middle Twp. and State Police divers searched the bay near where Hottenstein was found.

Described as 5'4" tall and weighing approximately 135 pounds, she was last seen wearing a pink plaid hat, pink scarf, a black long sleeved top and a black vest, along with dark jeans and tan Ugg boots.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Cape May Co. Prosecutors Office -- Major Crime Unit, at: (609) 465-1135

The Look: Towson's biggest fashion mishaps

A recent letter to the editor titled "When did North Face jackets become Towson's official uniform?" got me thinking about some of the groupthink on-campus trends I've noticed this winter.

Despite the fact that many of our parents are being laid off left and right, almost every girl on campus can be seen sporting The North Face Women's Denali Jacket, which on The North Face Web site runs at $165. Pretty pricey for Polartec fleece.

What confuses me about the Denali's popularity, however, isn't the fact that so many girls are willing to shell out almost 200 bucks to own the new "in" jacket. What confuses me is their choice in brand name.

Just read the details on the jacket listed on The North Face Web site: "A favorite among outdoor enthusiasts, the Denali Jacket offers straight-forward comfort and warmth in cold weather excursions."

Ladies, we live in central Maryland.

I'd hardly call trekking to P-tux in that ice storm we had earlier in the semester a "cold weather excursion."

The true fashion crime being committed isn't the use of the Denali in place of a winter coat (I hear they are actually much warmer than they appear).

The outfit combination that a surprising majority of the women on campus seem to wear on a regular basis is what makes me cringe.

I submit the revised Towson University uniform for the female population: A North Face Denali Jacket, a black tights and a pair of Ugg boots.

For the ideal winter outfit, I see several flaws in its design.

Flaw one: the black tights are worn in place of pants.

Apart from the risk of what can only be described as "wicked camel toe," tights used in place of pants can be used to effectively compliment a mini-dress or any article of clothing that reaches well past one's genital region.

Because the Denali lies just above the crotch, this rule does not apply.

Even though the Denali offers both "comfort and warmth," winter is not the best season to forgo pants.

Even though your torso and feet may remain warm in fleece and fur, nothing is going to be warming the most exposed part of your body.

Flaw two: no matter what your body type, this outfit does nothing to flatter it.

The Denali is neither form-fitting nor loose and wavy.

For the upper half of your body, it compliments little more than a hoodie or sweatshirt would.

The black tights leave nothing to the imagination, as they hug every inch of the calf and thigh.

And I don't think anyone really needs another reason to hate Uggs.

And lastly, flaw three: you look absolutely ridiculous.

What makes a lasting style is its versatility.

Scarves have become so popular because of the variety of colors, patterns, styles and ways to wear them.

Layers can be worn by multiple girls on campus everyday because accessories can be used to give a plain outfit originality.

The North Face Denali Jacket, black tights and a pair of Uggboots, no matter if you change the color of the jacket or tights or the design of the boots, will remain unoriginal, unproductive and unforgivable by fashionable society.

Cobbling together a traditional expertise

From brothel creepers to Ugg boots, cobbler Dennis Clarke can chart his career through fashions in shoes.

And as the 71-year-old nears the end of his career, business has never been so good.

“The credit crunch has been good for us,” he says. “People are getting their shoes repaired instead of buying new ones.”

Mr Clarke took over the tiny shop in Bell Street, Wolverhampton, opposite the shiny new Wulfrun Centre in 1967. He was offered a unit in the shopping flagship but never gave it serious consideration.

“I wasn’t going to pay their fantastic rates and rent,” he says. “And it’s worked out well. I charge a few quid less than the repairers in the shopping centre but they’ve got carpets and nice clean counters.”

Dennis’s glass display counter is randomly stuffed with laces, inner soles and used plastic bags. Shoes ready for collection are piled high on shelves on the left of the counter. A sign warns customers that any footwear not claimed within three months will be sent for recycling. A surprising number fall into this category.

 Mr Clarke started in the cobbling business in 1953, working in Blackheath, Brierley Hill and Dudley for Modern Shoe Repairs, later taken over by Mr Minet.

After National Service and a spell at Smart Shoe Repairs in Wolverhampton, he opened Densen’s Cobblers with business partner Eric Cartwright and another shop in Dudley Road.

After Eric died in 1983, Dennis just kept on the Bell Street business. The finishing machine dominates the narrow workshop at the back. Its multitude of functions include levelling heels before he starts works on them, trimming soles and giving the shoes a shine.

Unlike most cobblers, Dennis also has a stitching machine. Nearly all soles and heels these days are stuck on but only an old-fashioned stitch will do for welted shoes. Generously he allows his mates in the cobbling world to use the machine when they need it. Airguns have taken the place of hammers for knocking nails into soles.

“But when it breaks down, you’ll find me with nails in my mouth hammering away, just like an old-time cobbler,” he chuckles.

He also uses the nails as a code to record when a pair of shoes was brought in, knocking in an extra nail in the right shoe to identify the month - under the fourth nail for April, for example - while the left shoe indicates which week of the month. “If people want to argue about when they left them, I just turn them over and look at the soles.”

Another relic in this retail gem is the cash register which is pre-digital and can only ring up single figures. He closes Sundays and half-day Thursdays and says he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he retired.

But after 56 years in the business, it is now a consideration. He adds: “I like work, so I’ll hang on until they close me down.”

Different Types of Uggboots

Ugg boots are available in a multitude of sizes, colors, styles and fabric options. And it is no longer necessary to know someone living “down under” in Australia who can hook you up with a pair. Retailers nationwide and around the globe are stocking these best-sellers. It is even possible for you to own a pair without even having to leave the comfort of your own home. There are countless Internet web sites selling this hot item. Of course, once you receive your brand new pair of Uggs, you will want to get out of the house and show them off!

Uggboots are made in sizes that will fit every member of the family – infants, children, women and men. Full sizes, half sizes, and all sizes in between are available, if you willing to spend the time looking. But don’t worry; it will not take long to find the perfect size. What may be difficult is picking out the perfect color.

Chestnut, black, lilac, blue, pink, brown and natural sand are just a few of the many different color options that you can find for Uggboots. In fact, these trendy boots are so fashionable that you will want to purchase several pairs in different colors. Imagine owning different colored Uggboots to wear to match your different moods. Red is sure to be an attention-getter. Natural give the wearer that casual look. Pink is perfect for that flirty, girly look. And classic black is a color that is sure to go with everything. Uggboots are available in a variety of fashionable styles. You can purchase tall Uggboots or short. If you are unable to decide between tall or short, you can split the difference and get the three-quarter boot length. And if wearing the popular boot by day is not enough for you, they are even available in a slipper style. The latest style to hit the market is a clog style. And more styles are arriving every day.

And there are more. The tall Uggboot style can be found with additional fleece detail on the outside , making this style the ultimate in femininity. When practicality is more important looks, Uggboots are available with a tough molded sole and additional reinforcement in the heel and toe area. This style is great for wearing in slippery areas where traction and resistance can help the wearer avoid potentially dangerous falls.

And the exterior look does not end with color or with sheepskin. These boots are also available in your choice of suede or leather on the outside. A high-quality Ugg boot will with pure Australian merino sheepskin, but imitation fabrics abound. Zippers and straps and elasticized sides are just a few of the other options that will change the look of this must-have boot.

Big, clunky soles or smooth soles, tumbled leather or milky-smooth leather, real sheepskin or an imitation, short, tall, or somewhere in between, Uggboots are the “in” thing to have in your closet this season. And you’re sure to find a pair that fits your budget.